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I did not realize Bednar was that senior. He is 65; could be president for a long time.

Harold B. Lee was 20 years younger than the next most senior apostle when he was called. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia his administration "lasted from July 7, 1972 to Lee's sudden death due to a fatal pulmonary hemorrhage on December 26, 1973 at age 74." You just never know.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

A few years ago I was working my way through biographies of LDS Church presidents -- something I got away from and really need to get back to. When George Albert Smith was president of the 12, one of his fellow apostles suggested to another that he should listen to President Smith because he would be the next president of the church. George Albert shut that down quickly, saying he knew no such thing about his future. When he was a younger man, George Albert experienced many health challenges, which would lead to months of being bedridden; while in better health later in life, there was certainly no guarantee that he would outlive Heber J. Grant.

While George Albert did survive President Grant and did become the president of the church, L.A. has pointed to another example, that of Harold B. Lee and Spencer Kimball. Lee was a relatively young man, and Kimball was experiencing serious health issues. Perhaps the only person who thought Kimball might live to become president of the church was Lee, who advised Kimball to undergo a risky heart surgery.

When I was on my mission I had the opportunity to meet President Howard W. Hunter. When I shook his hand, I felt inspired that he would be the next president of the church. When I told my companion about this, he suggested that it was rather unlikely. Hunter had given his recent conference talks while sitting in his chair on the dais, and was in a wheel chair the day I met him. Just a few months later he finally stood again at the pulpit . . . and fell down during his talk. At the same time, however, President Benson was beginning his decline -- his last conference address was six months before Hunter stood again at the pulpit. People could be forgiven, then, for wondering who would live longer between the two.

As Churchill once said, the future, though imminent, is obscure. Even when it might not appear to be obscure, the future can still surprise.

"It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant

I might be wrong, but don't most of the new apostles get called from the Presidency of the Seventy? If so, there are 3 currently in that Presidency born outside the US. 1 from Brazil, 1 from Peru and 1 from England. I have enjoyed the conference talks of Patrick Kearon from England. My hope is that the new leadership brings us people from outside of the US. I believe they bring a more well-rounded view of the world and the church then guys who are primarily from the US.

I might be wrong, but don't most of the new apostles get called from the Presidency of the Seventy? If so, there are 3 currently in that Presidency born outside the US. 1 from Brazil, 1 from Peru and 1 from England. I have enjoyed the conference talks of Patrick Kearon from England. My hope is that the new leadership brings us people from outside of the US. I believe they bring a more well-rounded view of the world and the church then guys who are primarily from the US.

By "guys who are primarily from the US," do you mean "guys who are primarily from Utah and SE Idaho?"

By "guys who are primarily from the US," do you mean "guys who are primarily from Utah and SE Idaho?"

I think we might be surprised this time. Just a hunch.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats

“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

Bishop Cause (sp?) was front and center in the crowd when they announced the new FP. He'd be fantastic.

“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.